The Future of Salt

In the spring of 2013, GatesNotes, a Bill Gates publication, named Nu-Tek Food Science (currently NuTek Salt) as one of three companies that will shape the future of food. GatesNotes issue entitled “The Future of Food” reported that “a company called Nu-Tek Food Science has found a way to make potassium chloride taste just like salt, with only a fraction of the sodium.” This is great health news for the food processing industry as well as for individual families and consumers.

Through a revolutionary technology, this low-sodium flavoring tastes just like salt yet has about half the sodium of ordinary salt. According to the Mayo Clinic online, older individuals (those over age 51) should take in no more than 1500 mg of sodium daily, and those younger should limit sodium intake to less than 2300 mg daily. The Mayo Clinic notes that on average people take in about 3400 mg per day, mostly from a variety of products eaten multiple times per day, such as baked goods, cheese, prepackaged foods, etc. Now that’s a scary statistic!

Potassium chloride is the sodium-reduction agent used, but the mineral is modified to eliminate PC’s unpleasant bitter flavor and metallic taste, which have characterized salt substitutes on the market for many years. The Nu-Tek Food Science product is an elegant solution enabling food processors to keep a salty taste while limiting sodium intake. Salty flavor. Not much salt.